Public Statements

Issue Position: Jobs/Economy

Issue Position

The backbone of our economy is small business, and by small business I mean those who employ 2 to 15 people. The state at time brags about bringing companies that employ hundreds, but they come and go and the real strength is in the small, family owned business. We need to be careful not to place undue burdens on them such as over regulation, excessive paperwork or taxes on services. As the state struggles to balance the budget we must realize that the reason the state has less money is that all the businesses are also struggling because they have less. The solution is not to raise their taxes so the state will have more money but to continue to make government more efficient. As a business has to pay higher taxes they must cut cost, and that usually means less employees, which in turn creates another cost for the state. An example would be the gas tax, if you take five dollars away from an individual that is five dollars less he can spend in another business and that economic multiplier would be gone. Now is not the time to take money out of the economy and give it to the government.